Introduction to Qur’an
We have revealed this Qur'an in the Arabic language so that you may
understand.
The Arabic language is the most eloquent, plain, deep and expressive of the
meanings that might arise in one’s mind. Therefore, the most honorable Book,
was revealed in the most honorable language, to the most honorable Prophet
and Messenger(Peace be upon him), delivered by the most honorable
angel(Gabriel), in the most honorable land on earth(Makkah), and its revelation
started during the most honorable month of the year, Ramadan. Therefore, the
Qur’an [1] is perfect in every respect. It is the word of the Lord of the Worlds,
which He revealed to His Messenger Muhammad (Peace be upon him), to bring
mankind forth from darkness into light. It is the greatest of the heavenly
Books, the most complete, the most perfect and the last of them.
Central Theme
The Central Theme that runs throughout the Qur’an is the exposition of the
reality and the invitation to the right way. It declares that the same reality was
revealed to Adam (Peace be upon him), and all the Messengers after him, and
they all preached the same right way. Thus, the real object for the Book is to
call people to this "right way" and to illuminate Allah’s true guidance, which
has often been lost either through man's negligence and heedlessness or
distorted by his wicked perversity.
Subject
The Qur’an addresses two groups of people primarily, the Arabs and the People
of the Book. Arabs were from the progeny of Ismail (Peace be upon him), son of
Ibrahim (Peace be upon him). These were the unlettered people who were not
sent any Prophet before Muhammad (Peace be upon him). Secondly, the Qur’an
addresses the previous Muslim Ummahs i.e. The Jews and the Christians. They
were given all the previous scriptures and most of the Prophets were sent to
them before the advent of Prophet Muhammad (Peace be upon him). But as a
whole, Qur’an was revealed as a guidance and addresses all of the Mankind,
and not to a particular group or a nation. It speaks to innumerable varieties of
people, remote from one another in time, space, and character, and still it has
such an easy way of explanation, such a purity of style, and a clear way of
description that it is as if it were addressing only a single homogenous group,
and each different group thinks that it is being addressed uniquely and
specifically.
Division of Qur’an
Qur’an has been divided into units, portions and sections, according to the
convenience of the readers who wish to complete it in a given time and
according to the subject matter. The Arabic terms used for this division are
Manzil, Juz, surah, Hizb, ruku and ayah. There are different interpretations in
different translations for these Arabic terms, but there are a few terms which
we will use as they are in Arabic, like the words ayah and surah.
- Ayah
Ayah is the unit of Qur’an. It is guidance from Allah to Mankind and it is
therefore not at all surprising to find that its smallest divisions are called
'signs'(ayat) i.e. signs of the Wisdom of Allah. The terms sentence and verse are
not appropriate to use in place of the word ayah, as the Qur’an is not a Book of
poetry. The size of an ayah varies in different surahs. The smallest ayah in the
Qur’an comprises of only two letters i.e. ‘Ha-Mim’. On the other hand an ayah
can be as big as Ayat-ul-Kursi, which is one of the biggest ayat of the Qur’an.
So the division or the length of an ayah is not based on any principal of Arabic
grammar, rather it was accepted as Prophet Muhammad(Peace be upon him)
told us. As far as the count of ayat of the Qur’an are concerned, there is a
difference of opinion in this matter, but it is known that there are atleast 6500
ayat in the Glorious Qur’an.
- Surah
Surah, plural Suwar, literally means 'row' or 'fence'. In technical language, it is
the passage-wise division of the Qur'anic text. The Qur'an has 114 surahs of
unequal length, the shortest consisting of four (Al-Asr) and the longest of 286
ayat (Al-Baqarah). The surahs are not divided into topics or subjects, quite
unlike the books we are accustomed with and the reader also encounters
abrupt transitions between one subject matter into another within a surah,
that is what makes Qur’an a unique Book. Likewise, a surah does not contain
any chapters or paragraphs, thus these terms cannot be interchanged with the
Arabic word ‘surah’.
- Ruku
The surahs are further divided into sections called ruku. These divisions were
not present at the time of the Prophet (Peace be upon him) or during the days of
his Companions (May Allah be pleased with them all). They were later added on
for the convenience of the readers, under the leadership of Hajjaj bin Yusuf.
Rukus are indicated by the Arabic letter ‘Ain’ and a number on it.
- Juz
The Qur’an is also divided into thirty well know ‘Juz’ of approximately equal
length for easy recitation during the thirty nights of a month, especially of the
month of Ramadan. Usually they are indicated by the word and the number of
it given alongside. This division of the Qur’an was present at the time of the
Companions (May Allah be pleased with them all), as indicated by the hadith:
Aws bin Hudhayfah said, he asked the Companions (May Allah be pleased with
them all) of the Prophet(Peace be upon him), during his lifetime about how they
used to divide the Qur’an, they said, “A third, a fifth, a seventh, a ninth, one-
eleventh, one thirteenth and the Mufassal 7 until the end”8.
- Hizb
The Qur'an has each Juz subdivided into four Hizb. Each hizb is again
subdivided into quarters, the division is as follows, Rub’u (one-fourth), Nisf
(half), and Sulus (one-third).
- Manzil
The Qur'anic text is also divided into seven parts of approximately equal
length, called Manzil. It is indicated by the word ‘manzil’ and the respective
number in the margin. This arrangement was done by the Companions (May
Allah be pleased with them all) of the Prophet(Peace be upon him), to enable
them to recite the whole Qur’an in the course of a week. First manzil contains
three surahs, excluding Al-Fatihah, second has five, third seven, then nine,
eleven, thirteen and the seventh Manzil contains sixty-five surahs.
- Pairs
Some surahs in the Qur’an form pairs, like surah Al-Baqarah and surah Al-
Imran. Similarly the surahs Bani Israel and Al-Kahf form a pair. They form
pairs because of the similarities of the subject addressed in them. There are
also some unique surahs which do not form a pair with any surah like surah
Yasin.
- Makkan and Madinan Division
As part of studying the revelation of the Qur'an, scholars have categorized the
surahs of the Qur'an according to the time or era of their revelation. This is the
subject that came to be known as the Makkan and Madinan division of Qur'an.
The surahs revealed before Hijrah are known as Makkan surahs and those
revealed after Hijrah are called Madinan surahs. The Makkan surahs are 85
and Madinan surahs number 28, which are divided into seven Makkan-
Madinan groups. There is a scholarly consensus on the categorization of the
Makkan and the Madinan surahs except for a few, where not all the ayat in a
surah are of the same category, e.g. Surah Hajj. Some say it is Makkan and
others say it of the Madinan origin, both opinions are correct, as it contains
some ayat of the Makkan phase as well as from the Madinan period.
Asbab al-nuzul (reasons of the revelations)
The Qur'an has been revealed for guidance, for all times and situations to
come. However, various ayat were revealed at a particular time in history and
in particular circumstances. So we have to know the knowledge about the
reasons of the revelations (Asbab al-nuzul). i.e. the knowledge about the events
and circumstances in history that are related to the revelation of certain
passages from the Qur'an. With the knowledge of the reasons of revelations, it
is also to be decided whether the revelation has a specific implication or
whether it is of a general nature, and needs to be applied by all Muslims at all
times.